Brush Fire Spreads To Northwest Las Vegas HomeFour Teens Inside The House Was Warned By NHP Trooper To Get Out

A house on the northwest side of the city was destroyed by a fire this afternoon after some brush outside caught fire and spread to the house. A Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) Trooper in the area saw the smoke and went to the scene. There were no injuries during the incident. The American Red Cross is assisting five people who lived in the house.

Fire dispatchers received a call from the NHP dispatcher that a trooper found a house on fire near the intersection of N. Decatur Boulevard and W. Alexander Road at 2:08 p.m. At that point fire dispatchers began to receive multiple calls about the fire.

The trooper was in the area and saw the smoke. He drove toward the smoke; he found brush on the side of the road at 4200 Tuffer Lane on fire. He attempted to put the fire out using a fire extinguisher from his patrol unit, but the fire continued to get larger and brisk southerly winds were pushing the fire toward the one-story wood frame house. The trooper went into the yard looking for a garden hose but could not find one. He started to bang on the front door and yelled to see if anyone was inside.

Four teens, age 16-19 years were inside the house and heard the trooper banging on the door and yelling. But they said they were too scared to open the door, they didn’t know who it was. When they looked out and saw it was a trooper, they opened the door. At that point he told them to get out the house was on fire. The teens said there was black smoke everywhere and they could barely see. They ran through the smoke outside to safety. No one was injured.

When firefighters arrived on scene a few minutes later the 1,500 square foot home was fully involved with fire. The air conditioner on the roof was caving into the home just after firefighters arrived. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to put the fire out.

Fire investigators determined the fire started outside in the brush on the side of road, possibly due to a discarded cigarette. The brisk winds fanned the flames and pushed them up the side of the house through a vent into the attic, where once again the winds pushed it across the attic. The fire was burning above the teens without their knowledge. There were no signs of a fire or smoke inside the house.

The house was destroyed by the fire. Damage is estimated at $200,000.

The American Red Cross arrived on scene to assist the family.

Firefighters will remain on scene for several hours watching to ensure that a rekindle does not occur in the house due to the winds.